The present invention relates generally to an oxidation and corrosion resistant coating. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coating composition that is produced by a process for co-depositing transition metals on metallic components. This coating is particularly useful in protecting nickel and cobalt and iron-based superalloys from heat corrosion and oxidation attack, especially during high temperature operation. Such coating includes aluminum and silicon and the coated substrate may comprise precious metal, nickel, cobalt or MCrALY. Such coated substrates are particularly useful in gas turbine and jet engine hot zones.
There are numerous applications in which metal components are exposed to elevated temperatures for prolonged periods of time. In such applications, it is important that the metal components retain their solid strength and mechanical properties after repeated exposures to high temperatures. High temperature operation is often found in turbomachinery blading members such as turbine blades, vanes, nozzles etc. used in aerospace and land-based machinery wherein the temperature of the component, or portion of the component, may rise to well above 1500xc2x0 F. (815xc2x0 C.). For example, modern gas turbine engines, commonly known as xe2x80x9cjet engines,xe2x80x9d frequently operate in high temperature environments in excess of 2000xc2x0 F.
Components manufactured from what has become known in the art as xe2x80x9csuperalloy materialsxe2x80x9d are recognized as generally providing for a higher degree of shape retention, and significantly more strength retention, at a wider variety of temperatures than non-alloy materials. Superalloys include metals containing high nickel, high cobalt and high nickel-cobalt-base. While often exhibiting more desirable mechanical properties at high temperatures, superalloys frequently suffer, as many other metals and alloys, from oxidation, sulfidation and corrosion degradation reactions (as for example when such component is exposed to salt spray and sulfur compounds), all of which are accelerated at high temperatures. While the efficiency of a gas turbine engine generally increases with increasing nominal operating temperature, the ability of turbine blades and vanes made from superalloys to operate at increasingly great temperatures is limited by the ability of the turbine blades and vanes to withstand the heat, oxidation and corrosion effects of the impinging hot gas stream.
Superalloy components are frequently coated with materials that are less prone to such degradation reactions or which form an adherent oxide scale which protects the superalloy material from such reactions. Such degradation-resistant coatings often incorporate elements such as aluminum, silicon, chromium, and platinum group metals, and may comprise composite alloys such as MCrAlY, where M is selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, cobalt, and various mixtures thereof. A thermal barrier coating, such as a ceramic, may also be bonded to a degradation-resistant coating to further insulate the component from the high temperature, as such ceramic materials often do not directly adhere to the oxidized superalloys themselves. Degradation-resistant coatings and thermal barrier coatings can markedly extend the service life of gas turbine engine blades, vanes, and the like.
Degradation-resistant coatings are often chosen to provide high resistance to oxidation or hot corrosion, with little regard to the mechanical properties of the coating. Degradation-resistant coatings are typically applied in a thickness of 0.001-0.010 inches. Components may be coated differentially depending on whether one or more areas of the component is subjected to more or less degradative environments. Preferably, the degradation-resistant coatings should not crack when subjected to mechanically or thermally-induced strain. If the degradation-resistant coating is designed to form a protective oxide scale on the component, such scale preferably should not be dissolvable in liquids which may come in contact with the coated component.
A wide variety of techniques and processes are known for applying a degradation-resistant coating or layer to the surface of metal articles. Such techniques include diffusion coating, physical vapor deposition, plasma spray, and slurry coating.
Diffusion Coating
In diffusion coating, elements such as Al, Cr, Si, and/or Ti are reacted with halogenated activator at elevated temperatures to form gaseous species of Al, Cr, Si, and/or Ti which condense on the substrate and form a coating. Pack cementation is one of the most commonly employed diffusion coating techniques wherein the parts to be coated are placed in surface contact with the coating source material.
An early example of aluminum-silicon co-deposition by pack cementation is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,719 to Clark et al. The Clark et al. reference discloses that mixtures of aluminum, silicon and chromium heated at about 1750xc2x0 F. for 8 to 12 hours to a maximum coating temperature of 1900xc2x0 F. produce, by diffusion of such materials into the substrate, corrosion resistant coatings and that performance is enhanced when the silicon content is at least 5% by weight and the Si/Cr weight ratio is within the range of 0.6 to 1.4. A silicon pack cementation process is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,233 to van Schaik, wherein a silicon containing coating is produced by overcoating surfaces previously treated with active metal species, such as Y or Ti. Preferably, the active metal is said to be ion plated, diffused in a vacuum, and mechanically treated prior to application of the silicon. The van Schaik reference suggests that a protective coating of ternary silicides, such as Ti6Ni16Si7 and Ni49Ti14Si37, is formed. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,727 to Rapp et al. describes a pack cementation process wherein chromium and silicon are co-deposited onto ferrous substrates utilizing a dual activator system in a two-step heating cycle.
Physical Vapor Deposition
In physical vapor deposition techniques (xe2x80x9cPVDxe2x80x9d), metallic components which are to be incorporated into a coating are applied by means of vaporization. Numerous physical vapor deposition techniques have been described in the literature and include above-the-pack (xe2x80x9cATPxe2x80x9d), chemical vapor deposition (xe2x80x9cCVDxe2x80x9d), and electron beam physical vapor deposition (xe2x80x9cEB-PVDxe2x80x9d). ATP processes are accomplished in a manner similar to pack cementation, however, the substrate is held out-of-contact with the metal containing and activator containing source materials, and a coating forms by physical vapor deposition and diffusion of metal onto and into the substrate. The metal source may be present in powdered form or as metallic chunks. CVD, a specialized form of vapor coating, is usually accomplished using a starting gas. The gas can either be the source of the deposited metals or can be the reactant used to generate the metallic vapor done by passing it over or through a bed of metallic source. CVD processing typically requires more stringent processing controls and cleaner source materials. EB-PVD functions by creating a molten pool of metal from which material evaporates and then deposits on the substrate in a line-of-sight path. ATP, CVD, and EB-PVD processes typically result in coatings that are smoother, cleaner and cosmetically improved compared to parts coated by pack cementation. Numerous examples of ATP, CVD, and EB-PVD and other types of physical vapor deposition processes can be found in the art. The list of reactant sources, materials and substrates used in such processes is long and varied.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,927 to Gauje (SNECMA Corp.) discloses a method for vapor depositing aluminum to make a coating that protects metal articles subject to high temperature. At the Third International Conference on Chemical Vapor Deposition (Salt Lake City, Utah 1972), Felix and Beutler demonstrated coated nickel superalloys by CVD methods in a stream of silicon tetrachloride and hydrogen at 980xc2x0 C. to 1080xc2x0 C. Resultant coatings were said to be upwards of 10 mils thick with upwards of 25% silicon. Increased corrosion protection was claimed for such coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,570 to Goebel et al. discloses an overlay coating for superalloys, the outer layer of which is silicon enriched, wherein the surface layer is produced by diffusing silicon via, among other methods, physical vapor deposition (see col. 4, lines 27-60). The Goebel et al. patent describes physical vapor deposition wherein the article to be coated is held over a molten pool of silicon in a vacuum chamber and the surface of the substrate is preferably heated at 1750xc2x0 F. as the silicon vapors condense on the substrate. Further heat treatment to 1850xc2x0 F. is said to promote further diffusion of the silicon into the overlay coating. The Goebel et al. reference discloses increased corrosion protection when a composite coating formed by siliconizing over MCrAlY-type coatings is performed, and in particular when the outer layer coating is rich in silicon.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,757 to Milaniak et al. discloses a powder mixture for applying gas phase aluminide coatings to nickel or cobalt based superalloys. The Milaniak et al. reference describes a powder mixture consisting essentially of about 5-20 weight percent ammonium bifluoride as an activator (or halides (preferably fluorides) of alkali or alkaline earth metals), 10-30 weight percent chromium as buffer and a balance of Co2Al5. The Milaniak et al. reference states that elimination of aluminum oxide as a powder constituent dramatically improves the quality of the aluminide coating.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,726 to Rose et al. discloses a process for applying a protective coating to nickel and/or cobalt-based superalloys involving applying a thin layer of a platinum-group metal onto the surface of a superalloy, heating the superalloy in the presence of a silicon vapor to diffuse the resulting platinum-group metal silicide into the superalloy surface, diffusion coating the silicided superalloy with vapors of a diffusion powder composition containing sources of aluminum, and heating the superalloy to form a ductile protective coating. Such coating is said to comprise an outer zone of an aluminide of said platinum-group metal and an inner stabilizing zone of silicided platinum-group metal comprising from 3 to 20% by weight silicon.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,142 teaches application of Al, Cr, Si and Y to the surface of superalloys by sputtering, a physical vapor deposition technique, or by an EB-PVD method. The Si, at 0.5 to 7.0 weight percent, is present in elemental form as a solid solution in both the gamma and beta phases of the nickel aluminide coating. U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,239 to Olson et al., discussed below with respect to plasma spray techniques, also discloses that its overlay coating can be applied by EB-PVD.
Many different apparatuses utilizing physical vapor phase deposition methodologies are described in the art, the design often varying with respect to the particular industry in which such technology is employed, e.g., aerospace vs. semiconductor industries. For example, several patented equipment designs and processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,462,013, 5,407,704, and 5,264,245 to Howmet Corporation, wherein it is disclosed, among other things, that varying temperature locally to match local metal halide reactivity enhances the uniformity of aluminide coatings.
Plasma Spray
Another coating method frequently employed to form degradation-resistant coatings is the so-called xe2x80x9cplasma sprayxe2x80x9d method. Plasma sprays incorporate mixtures of powders that are made molten and sprayed onto substrates at very high velocity and temperature. Plasma spray coatings typically have good corrosion resistance due to high Cr content and fairly good oxidation resistance due to the presence of Al and Y or Hf. Such coatings typically have a matrix of MCrAlYX(Hf). Examples of plasma spray techniques include vapor plasma spray (xe2x80x9cVPSxe2x80x9d), high velocity oxygen fuel spray (xe2x80x9cHVOFxe2x80x9d), low pressure plasma spray (xe2x80x9cLPPSxe2x80x9d), and air plasma spray (xe2x80x9cAPSxe2x80x9d).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,864 to Dardi et al. teaches that a plasma spray coating containing 5 to 15% wt % aluminum, up to 12 wt % silicon, and various other active metals, such as Hf or Y, improves resistance to sulfidation and oxidation reactions. The Dardi et al. reference also contemplates ion plating and physical vapor deposition methods for the application of various coatings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,239 to Olson et al. discloses an improved coating that is produced in a two-step process which may employ plasma spray techniques encompassing over-aluminizing a thin, nominally 0.0015xe2x80x3, metallic overlay coating containing Si, Y and Hf. The Olson et. al. reference describes a duplex microstructure comprising about 20-35 weight percent aluminum enriched with about 0.1-5.0 weight percent yttrium, about 0.1-7.0 weight percent silicon and about 0.1-2.0 weight percent hafnium.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,401,307 and 5,582,635 to Czech and Schmiz describe plasma sprayed and PVD deposited MCRAlY coatings containing 1-2% silicon that have improved corrosion resistance and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature below 500xc2x0 C.
Slurry Coating
Slurry coating may also be used to form degradation-resistant coatings. Slurry coatings are typically applied by dip or paint spray application techniques. The slurry may be applied in single or multiple steps, before firing to form the coating. Typical slurry coatings are heated to between 1600xc2x0 F. and 2000xc2x0 F. U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,791 to Maxwell et al. discloses a paint slurry coating for superalloys containing MCrAlYSi. Silicon content in the described Maxwell et al. slurry is disclosed to be in the range of 10% -16%. The Maxwell et al. reference further discloses applying the slurry to substrate material heated to 2100xc2x0 F.-2225xc2x0 .F to cause the slurry to become molten on the substrate surface thereby dissolving some of the substrate while the material diffuses into the substrate material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,574 to Deadmore et al. describes a method for aluminum and silicon application that requires spraying a lacquer slurry comprising cellulose nitrate containing high purity silicon powder and subsequently pack-aluminizing the silicon slurry sprayed superalloy substrate. A sublayer of high purity silicon in an aluminide structure characterizes the resultant coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,364 to Krutenat describes a slurry method for the application of aluminum and silicon to iron-based materials. This slurry method is similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,574 above, where eutectic compositions of aluminum and silicon in binder systems are sprayed onto superalloy surfaces and thermally diffused. The slurries become molten in processing and produce coatings that have high levels of silicon in the outer layers. Silicides and elemental silicon are disclosed to be present.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,770 to Meelu et al. may be said to present an advancement in slurry Alxe2x80x94Si coatings. Such coating is multi-layered and silicon-enriched and is produced by multiple and sequential slurry-spray-and-diffuse cycles. This coating limits the silicon content of the coating directly adjacent to the surface to a maximum of 10% and also forms multiple bands of chromium-silicon spaced inside the aluminide coating. Diffusion of nickel and chromium from the base metal into the coating zone are disclosed to improve coating performance. Such coating is disclosed as reducing silicon-induced surface brittleness, associated with prior art coatings, while increasing the corrosion resistance through the presence of an equally spaced sublayer of chromium silicide bands. Diffuse distribution of the silicide phases has been reported to enhance coating performance. See Berry et al., International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exposition, Jun. 5-8, 1995. A coating based on the Meelu et al. disclosure is produced commercially and known in the industry under the trade name SERMALOY(trademark) 1515.
The presently available coating deposition techniques suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, pack cementation, plasma spray, and slurry deposition methods are less than desirable when parts of relatively complex design, having internal passages and the like, are to be coated. Such techniques may clog or obstruct small internal passages, mandating a thorough cleaning of the part prior to shipment. On the other hand, physical vapor deposition techniques (such as ATP, CVD and EB-PVD), while avoiding such clogging problems and in general permitting more uniformity in thickness and composition, as currently employed, often require multi-step processes to produce many types of multiplex coatings.
Among the degradation-resistant coatings available today, it is recognized in the art that degradation-resistant coatings comprising Alxe2x80x94Si offer significant advantages, such as increased ductility and corrosion protection. Alxe2x80x94Si degradation resistant coatings typically contain more than 0.5 weight percent Si and may contain numerous other elements and compounds thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,196 to Creech et al. describes a two-step process for producing a Pt-Si-Al coating on superalloys. The critical processing steps involve the electrophoretic co-deposition of platinum and silicon material, diffusion heat treatment, electrophoretic deposition of aluminum-containing material, and heat treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,726 to Rose et al. describes a multi-step method for producing a platinum group silicon-modified aluminide to nickel and/or cobalt-based superalloys. This method involves applying a thin layer of a platinum-group metal on the superalloy, heating the superalloy over a thermal cycle in the presence of a silicon vapor phase to diffuse the resulting platinum-group metal silicide into the superalloy surface, diffusion coating the silicided superalloy with vapors of a diffusion powder composition containing sources of aluminum and heating the superalloy to form a ductile protective coating.
Much work has been undertaken with respect to the co-deposition of oxide forming species in order to reduce the time and expense involved with multi-step coating processes. However, with respect to the co-deposition of silicon and aluminum, successful co-deposition has only been effectuated by means of pack cementation, EB-PVD, plasma spray, and slurry coating techniques. Attempts to use the arguably more advantageous ATP or CVD techniques have been unsuccessful or uneconomical. In a work authored by R. Bianco and R. Rapp entitled xe2x80x9cPack Cementation Aluminide Coatings on Superalloys: Codeposition of Cr and Reactive Elementsxe2x80x9d, Apr. 1993 (4), pages 1181-1190, the authors argue that while it is theoretically possible to co-deposit aluminum and silicon at high temperatures, using physical vapor deposition in levels of Si greater than 1 wt. % would be extremely difficult. These authors cite at least two major obstacles which need to be overcome in the co-deposition of silicon and aluminum by physical vapor deposition: (1) the formation of silicon carbide at the coating surface due to the high carbon content of many superalloys which inhibits the co-deposition and (2) the great difference between aluminum halide partial pressures and silicon halide partial pressures. Bianco and Rapp were unable to co-deposit such elements by conventional ATP means. Many others in the art do not believe that co-deposition using ATP techniques is possible.
Given the advantages associated with ATP techniques discussed above, the superior degradation-resistant coating formed with Alxe2x80x94Si, and the economic and time saving advantages of co-deposition, it would be highly advantageous to be able to employ ATP techniques to co-deposit Al and Si on superalloys and superalloys overcoated with MCrAlY coatings and precious metal materials. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to be able to co-deposit Al and Si using a relatively inexpensive methodology.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a degradation-resistant coating comprising Al and Si is formed by the process of: (a) furnishing a nickel, cobalt or iron-based superalloy substrate; (b) furnishing one or more powder mixtures containing from about 1 to about 10 percent Al and from about 1-20 percent Si; (c) heating the one or more powder mixture(s) at a temperature between about 1500xc2x0 F. to about 2200xc2x0 F.; (d) supporting the heated superalloy substrate out of contact with the heated powder mixture(s) at a distance such that vapor from said powder mixture(s) can contact with the superalloy substrate; (d) depositing an Alxe2x80x94Si containing coating on the superalloy substrate from about 1 to about 12 hours; (e) heating the superalloy substrate to form a protective layer containing aluminum and silicon at the surface of the substrate.
The present invention relates to a simplified process for applying a protective coating containing aluminum and silicon onto metallic bodies or components by means of vapor deposition.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a process whereby aluminum and silicon may be co-deposited onto metallic superalloys utilizing ATP techniques.
Further, the present invention relates to an improved aluminum and silicon degradation-resistant coating formed by co-depositing aluminum and silicon by means of ATP techniques.
And yet further, the present invention relates to a vapor phase process, and a coating made utilizing such process, wherein aluminum and silicon are co-deposited in vapor phase in a temperature range of approximately about 1600xc2x0 F.-2100xc2x0 F. for more than approximately two hours to produce a coating thickness ranging from approximately 0.001xe2x80x3 to approximately 0.005xe2x80x3. And finally, the present invention relates to a co-deposited vapor Alxe2x80x94Si coating containing at least 6 wt. % Si and no more than 32 wt. % Al with the preferable ratio of SLIM in the range of 0.1-0.5, and more preferably the ratio being between 0.2-0.4.